TALK

This is one of Yes' strongest albums after their brilliant Going for the One and easily their best with Rabin (even if he controls the band here more than ever). This album sounds very different from Yes and sounds more like a collaboration from Trevor and Jon Anderson in the vocal department. The production is perfect, althrough that isn't necesarily good for some prog purists. The moods vary from rockers to ballads to some weird stuff in the epic. All the songs are at least good and have some of the best melodies from Jon on the mid-late Yes career.

The Calling starts the album with a bang! This is not the standard big dumb pop-rocker that heads to the charts. This album has some interesting things like keyboard/guitar interplay in the instrumental section, and the way the outro is done which aren't very common on the radio. Besides that, it frickin' rocks and has some sweet guitar and hammond organ soloing. The choruses are catchy and the guitar riff in the intro and outro is a great way to start/finish the song. 7/10

I am Waiting is a great ballad with some simple, yet effective melodies sung with passion, and talk and response elements in vocalizations as well as harmonies. The instrumentation compliments the mood very well and makes this piece one of the best efforts from Rabin. There are also heavier parts, but don't feel out of place. 7.5/10

Real Love a highlight here with one of the best choruses I've ever heard from Yes. The guitar riffing in the beginning is very interesting and holds my attention while the instrumentation is very inspired and proggy. A similar guitar riff is played on distorted guitars after its first chorus. By the way, the choruses have extremely beautiful vocals. Also, the guitar solo at the end is unusually wild and interesting. 8/10

State of Play has a harder edge with a guitar riff close to metal. The choruses sadly are not as great as the ones in hte previous tracks but they end with a bang and lead to the great verses. There's a neat instrumental section in the middle. 6.5/10

Walls is a basic pop/rocker that seems to be aimed for radioplay. Pretty good actually, but I prefer The Calling. 5.5/10

Where Will You Be is yet another highlight of the album. It is a spacey, celestial, percussion-driven piece with absolutely wonderful playing (including a heavenly laid- back guitar solo at minutes 3-4). The singing here is great. 8.5/10

Endless Dream is overall a well done epic, although not as good as their epics in the past. It begins with a bombastic intro full of electric guitar and fast pianos. The second section "talk" has distorted vocals and restrained piano playing. The great "talk talk listening" melody is introduced here and after a short instrumental break, a weird section occurs. While at first it made me imagine a guitar vomiting all over the studio, I kinda got used to this unusual electronic moment and admit that the arrangements are pretty well done. The talk talk listening melody is played again and is followed by a somewhat spacey part which brings back the piano playing of the first section. The guitars here soar. Talk talk listening is played again which is never bad as the theme is strong althrough the climax is not as strong as I would have wished it to be. The third is a soft finale bringing back the melodies of Endless Dream and those weird guitar effects. 6/10

So there you have it, a strong album that some yes fans didn't bother to approach. This is the proggiest and most inspired album from their mid-late career, even if the lineup doesn't seem promising, and the already good members don't seem to do a lot (chris Squire). However, Jon Anderson sings as good as always with his celestial voice, Alan White pounds the drums with power and style, and Trevor sings great vocals while playing at his best.

I recommend it, it is a great album.

Highlights: Real Love, Where Will You Be

Let Downs: Walls

My Grade: B-

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